After learning their daughter was allergic to chemicals present in baby shampoos and washes, Shaen and Rich Goetsch decided to make their own artisanal soaps free of synthetics. Their wholesome hobby turned into a viable vocation in 2013 when they established Perfectly Natural Soap before opening their first retail location in 2016 in Smithfield. “We had been selling at the Smithfield Farmers Market and just absolutely fell in love with the town,” Shaen shares. “It’s an absolutely charming town, it’s got that old-time feel, the people are wonderful and [we] just fell in love with that Main Street area.” Shortly thereafter, they opened their second location in 2018 in their hometown of Williamsburg where they create their soaps in their 2,000-square-foot warehouse studio.

Perfectly Natural Soap utilizes a cold process to produce their soaps. Shaen and Rich take plant-based oils such as a blend of coconut, avocado, olive oil and sunflower oil and add an alkali, so the solution is a lye, which converts the fatty acids in the oil into sodium salt and glycerin, which is soap.